The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

***For the laymen out there, not those here on Basenotes***

It seems to me that everyone, in one way or another wishes to be presented in the best manner possible. One way of doing so is through fashion: buying the $100 Diesel Jeans or that $600 Coach bag...this all adds to our presentation to society. The reason why we buy these (ridiculously) expensive products is so that we can show to other people a reflection of who we are. But to me, fashion is pointless without the ultimate fashion accessory: fragrances. Personally, I do not care if someone has a pair of ridiculously expensive pair of jean, bag, shoes, sunglasses..or WHATEVER. What I care about is how they smell. Would you want to be standing near someone who is wearing a sharp Armani suit, but smells like body odor. I mean, seriously. Fragrance is ALWAYS, ALWAYS neglected when it come to fashion. I dont understand why. The scent you give off tell the world more of who you really are as a person. No pair of jeans or designer bag is going to do that. Scent is processed in the reptilian part of our brain, the animalistic part of us. This is why when we smell, say a pie in the oven, when salivate. or why when we smell body odor or any type of funkiess, we get irritated or angry. Its that quick, there is no; "hmm...that smells bad, should i be irritated?" Instead, the response to the bad odor is instantaneous. The reptilian part of us, the part without logic snap into place and we immediately make that grimace and we are immediately irritated. So why is it that fragrance always get neglected? But this is no to say to go out and buy any perfume or cologne. My point is that not enough people take the time to go and read up on fragrance, to study them to learn about them. rather, people will turn the pages of the latest Cosmo Magazine to fine the latest trend in jeans, lipgloss, shoe, or whatever, and perhaps smell a few scent samples in the magazine, and thats it. Why doesnt the world embrace fragrances, yet scent is the truest portrayal of who we are?

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

I agree in principle, as I think the space conquering method that scent brings to our presentation is partly what makes it so cool, but where I don't agree is 1) that the alternative is body odor. I find it rare that anyone I'm around in the city actually smells bad. It happens, but it's rare. Most people have no smell, even on the crowded subways here. Further, if people smell bad, they usually smell bad even if they're wearing fragrance over/under the BO. And 2) for most people, they don't really catch on to the variety of fragrances out there that can affect their presentation. Most people wearing fragrances (not Basenoters) wear one of the main dozen or 18 worldwide best sellers, and thus really, I believe, say very little about themselves through this presentation. (You'll probably agree, Adcs.) So even if people are wearing a scent, it doesn't render them much of an individual, so to speak, and the message I think they're sending is "I'm a scent wearer" rather than the more advanced, "I'm intriguing in ways you weren't expecting" way that advanced scent usage brings.

Just my quick thoughts though. I don't mean anything to be firm or judgments of anyone.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

The days of men's style have been over since the 80's. Everything now is minimal unless you buy custom or vintage. However, it is always interesting to hear what women think about style. My guess is that, being sensitive and perceptive as they should be (and as we like them to be ), they are also striving to achieve a kind of minimalism of style.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

My thought exactly. Like i said, its not about buying ANY cologne or perfume, its more about if that cologne or perfume fits you. This is why so many wear AdG or Cool Water or whatever mainstream scent, because they are not well informed about the other choices available.And this goes back to my point about why the world is intrigued with fashion and not fragrance. People will spend time researching the latest trend in designer bags, but not the latest trend....wait a second.Thats it, the operative word is TREND. People all look for the latest trend in everything, and this applies to fragrances. This is why so many people go out and buy alot of mainstream scents, because its what Cosmo or Vogue tells them to buy. WIth fashion it works becasue say, if plaid is in this season, you will go out and buy plaid, but not all plaid is the same, hence you get variation with clothing. With fragrance, if Vogue tells you that AdG if selling like hot cake, you go out snap that thing up. But unlike with clothing where they can be variation depending on how you layer the plaid or what not, AdG will always be AdG.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

Instead, the response to the bad odor is instantaneous. The reptilian part of us, the part without logic snap into place and we immediately make that grimace and we are immediately irritated.

You know, I find this interesting. Besides from any true stench, I'd say that many of our responses to bad (and to good) odors are learnt and may vary between cultures. I don't have an example off the top of my head, but that's my impression.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

are people not embracing fragrances? my thoughts were to the contrary. i see articles, books about fragrances all around now whereas i never used to. i'd say fragrances are more popular now than ever.

those who love clothes get the same feeling when wearing a pair of jeans as you do spraying fragrance. i'd rather dress well than smell good tbh but both are not hard to do.

The days of men's style have been over since the 80's. Everything now is minimal...

can't we say the same for men's fragrances?

they obviously go hand in hand. helmut lang, hedi slimane and dior homme, tom ford and his creations at gucci/ ysl. they are a finishing touch for clothing that sometimes works really well with the designers aesthetic.

perhaps the main argument against fragrance is practicality. if a fashion house can survive by putting out a fragrance. just how much money are they making out of us?

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

Anyone who is highly involved with denim culture (especially dry denim), handbag culture, or shoe culture could argue otherwise. To some people, wearing ugly shoes is like having body odor, I would have to guess-- but the majority of us will never get in touch with that. The best way to argue that fragrance is better is to say that it is art, and its beauty lasts longer than the seasonal shoe. But in the end its all opinion.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

This is a complicated subject involving culture, etiquette, etc. Here are some pieces to the puzzle:

In French culture, fragrance is no biggie, if not a requirement.

In American culture:

-- "no fragrance" at work policies, guidelines, company culture
-- "no fragrance" helps lessen possible sexual harassment litigation & disciplinary action
-- "no fragrance" helps lessen awkward confusion if another person comments about it (i.e. some men or women might assume it's a sexual advance)
-- discussing fragrance is almost as taboo as the "nevers" of self-oppressed, politically correct, modern Americans: never talk about politics, sex, or religion
-- certain parts of the U.S. have a larger number of individuals who (delicately put) associate males who wear ANY fragrance with certain sexual orientations that they are zealously opposed to
-- Americans often believe when a male wears a scent, he must be "going out"
-- anti-sensuality is often associated with WASP culture with historical roots going back to the Puritans
-- the U.S. consumer is probably less fragrance educated than, say, Europeans

If a walk down the deodorant aisle is any indication, it would seem that Americans have an obsession with clean, sport-type scents with the odd floral/musk thrown in for a few women and men. It is no wonder U.S. males lean toward fragrance choices that are about as unique and thoughtful as their typical style of dress -- jeans/shorts and a T-shirt.

Heck, research fragrances Hollywood celebrities wear and you'll find a significant amount of "Clean" and "Gendarme". This is not a criticism of those choices OR those who wear them. My guess (and point) is they either a.) reflect America's preference for "clean" notes or b.) they don't wish to offend anyone as their profession can require keeping intimate distances with co-workers while under hot lights and emotional pressure.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

Originally Posted by justaguy

Anyone who is highly involved with denim culture (especially dry denim), handbag culture, or shoe culture could argue otherwise. To some people, wearing ugly shoes is like having body odor, I would have to guess-- but the majority of us will never get in touch with that. The best way to argue that fragrance is better is to say that it is art, and its beauty lasts longer than the seasonal shoe. But in the end its all opinion.

it can't be art if it has function. fragrance has a function which is to mask body odor. so do shoes no matter how beautiful. i don't actually know how to classify perfumes but i put watches, shoes, couture, bespoke suits, fountain pens under high craft, in that artisans used to and actually still make them. i wouldn't call a chemist an artisan. i don't mean the noses of current perfumery but the ones that used to mix perfume on the spot centuries ago.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

Unlike vision, that the olfactory sense is one of humans' most underutilised senses tells a part of the story. For as long as anyone care to remember, 'smelling good' has never been ranked as high as 'looking good'.

Re: The Ultimate Fashion Accesory

Diamondflame, you are spot-on in observing that the olfactory sense is the most underused, yet is the most powerful scent. Simply smelling a home-cooked meal or a box of wax crayons can transport us back decades to our mothers' kitchens and the grade school.

"No elegance is possible without it...perfume is a part of you." Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel